Revolution
by TheatreBrat
Summary: MaureenCollins friendship, from their first meeting in kindy to Collins' death.


Disclaimer: I don't own RENT, unfortunately.

Revolution

On Maureen's first day at kindergarten, she smuggled nail polish into the playhouse in the pocket of her white skirt. She caused several arguments with other children over whether she could play at marrying another girl, until one of the women working there picked her up and removed her from the group she was trying to play with.

Maureen went off on her own, and soon found the scooters and tricycles that were really meant to be for the older children. She got on a scooter, pushed off and shot straight into the edge of the sandpit, falling off the scooter and skinning her knees. She got up, brushed herself off, then noticed the blue stain spreading across her skirt from the nail polish bottle, which had come open when she fell.

Utterly frustrated with the world in general, Maureen sat down on the ground and cried. A small boy, wearing a coat a size too big for him, came over and watched her for a few seconds, then left, came back with a roll of paper towels, sat down beside her and, without a word, put an arm around her shoulders and started to clean the mess off her skirt. Eventually, worn out, she fell asleep with his arm still around her.

From that day forth, Maureen and Collins were firm friends. Maureen had found a willing ally in her battle to initiate same-sex marriage games, and Collins had found something about kindergarten to look forward to. Their friendship didn't escape the supervisors at the kindy, and one woman suggested that Maureen stop trying to play parenting games with other girls, and play with Collins instead. Both children just stared at her, unable to understand why she had even suggested it, then Maureen went back to pestering the other girls.

On the first day of school, Collins waited patiently until Maureen walked in the door, then they sat next to each other for the entire day. It never occurred to either of them that the other one might not be there.

One day, a few months into their first year of school, Maureen was home sick. Collins sat on his own in class, and spent lunchtime sitting on the field doodling on a piece of paper. When Maureen came back, Collins hugged her as soon as she walked in the door, and they stuck together even more closely than usual for the rest of the week.

Collins was Maureen's first crush. They were both eleven, and both just starting to grow up. Maureen was in the middle of a growth spurt that made her briefly taller than Collins, and he'd started calling her Beanpole. The nickname stuck even when he had his own growth spurt and overtook her completely, because she smiled every time he used it. Collins didn't know that Maureen loved it when he paid special attention to her, or that her feelings for him had changed at all.

Maureen asked some of the girls in her class what was going on, and was informed, amidst much teasing and catcalling, that she had a crush on her best friend. Over the next few weeks, she was constantly told to ask him out, but for the first time in her life, Maureen Johnson was shy.

Maureen and Collins went to high school together, and spent long summer afternoons lying on the field talking. They were thirteen when Maureen finally admitted her crush. Collins sat up, gazed at her for a while trying to figure out what to say, then told her he was pretty sure he liked boys. Suddenly awkward with each other, they both got up to go. Feeling sorry for Maureen, Collins gently kissed her forehead to say goodbye.

Maureen walked on air all the way home.

When Collins got too sick to stay in the apartment he shared with Mark and Roger, he and Maureen spent long nights in his hospital room talking. Maureen hated hospitals, so the first few times she visited, Collins distracted her by telling stories. He finally admitted the crush he'd had on Mark in high school, and Maureen had to stuff her hand in her mouth to keep from shrieking with laughter and getting kicked out. When she left, Collins was falling asleep, and she gently kissed his forehead to say goodnight.

Collins asked a doctor how long he had to live. Over the next few weeks, he deliberately distracted Maureen so she wouldn't find out how little time he had. When she eventually asked, he told her he didn't know. For the first and last time in his life, Collins lied to Maureen.

He started calling her Beanpole again, reminded of the old nickname by a conversation about their old primary school. She still smiled every time he used the name, and she made sure he never noticed that she had to look away so he wouldn't see the tears in her eyes.

That Christmas, Collins wasn't at the Life Café, where the bohemians had spent every Christmas Eve since Maureen's protest three years ago. Maureen sat apart from the rest of the group, doodling on a napkin, until Joanne gave her a ride to the hospital. Collins sat up as soon as she walked in the door, and she went straight to his bed and hugged him.

From that day on, Collins waited patiently every day until Maureen visited, and they sat together, talking for hours on end. One of the nurses referred to Maureen as Collins' girlfriend, and the two of them just stared at her for a couple of seconds. It took them that long to understand why she had even suggested it.

The day Collins died, Maureen sat on his bed with a bottle of blue nail polish, and they painted his nails blue. Collins' hands were shaking badly, and he dropped the bottle, spilling nail polish over the white sheets. Without a word, Maureen put her arm around his shoulders and started to clean the mess off the sheets until Collins fell asleep for good, with her arm still around him.


End file.
